Democrats dominate Essex County vote

GOP holds registration edge, but lose

Despite being at a nearly 2-1 disadvantage in voter registration, Democrats dominated elections in Essex County Nov. 6. President Barack Obama, a Democrat, carried the county over Republican challenger Mitt Romney by a 8,805-5,976 margin.

continued  In 2008 Obama won in 16 of the 18 towns in Essex County. Obama received 9,531 votes (56.1 percent) for president in Essex County. GOP candidate John McCain got 7,189 (42.3 percent).

Even hometown favorite Alexander “Sandy” Treadwell of Westport felt the sting of being a Republican in 2008. Running against Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand for a seat in the House, the former Essex County and New York State GOP chairman was crushed.

Not only did he lose by a wide margin, Treadwell lost Essex County, 2,701-2,502, after spending $6 million of his own money on the campaign.

In 2010 and Gillibrand gave up her seat in the U.S. House to become a U.S. Senator.

“They really helped people out, especially in the Keene area,” Jackson said of the Democratic leaders. “The voters remember that.”

Moriah Supervisor Tom Scozzafava also believes the Essex County electorate has changed.

“When I first ran for office in 1985 it was very important to be on the Republican Party line,” he said. “People voted strictly party lines.

“I remember going door-to-door and meeting a wonderful lady,” Scozzafava added. “We visited for an hour. When I got up to leave we hugged and kissed. Then she told me she wouldn’t vote for me because I was a Republican.

“The last few elections you see more and more people voting all over the ballot,” he said. “People look more at the candidates and vote for the person they think will do the best job.”

Scozzafava, a Republican Party maverick, thinks that’s a good thing. This year he endorsed Democrat Bill Owens for the U.S. House. Two years ago he backed Democrat Andrew Cuomo for governor.

“There is so much more information available to voters today because of the internet,” Scozzafava said. “People don’t have to accept the party line, they can do some research and decide on the best candidate to support. Today every candidate’s record is on the internet and our voters are much more educated on the issues.”